Prolactin is known to play an important role in breast development and differentiation. Thus proliferative breast diseases are good models to unravel PRl / PRLR function in proliferative processes.

The aim of this project is to identify and to characterize new mutants of the prolactin receptor gene within cohorts of benign or malign breast diseases with low or high occurrence frequency in human populations

There is currently no known genetic disease linked to prolactin (prl) or its receptor (prlR) in humans. In a previous work, we have identified a new mutation of prolactin receptor that leads to it's constitutive activation and to cell proliferation signalling cascades (i.e. through MAP kinases).

This result suggests that PRLR mutants may have a strong physiopathological impact on breast diseases etiology and/or development and/or evolution.

Based on this, we will pursue the identification of new PRLR mutants in various breast diseases and continue their in vitro functional characterization and then analyse their in vivo consequences on breast tissue samples collected within these women.

In a first time we wish to confirm our previous results on multiple fibroadenomas (MFA). The current cohort will be augmented with 30 to 35 new patients each year. We will confirm our in vitro results in vivo with tumoral and peri-tumoral tissue samples.

We then wish to extend this study to other rare breast pathologies (i.e. gigantomastia, phyllodies tumors, giant fibroadenomas) and to more common ones (simple fibroadenomas) to demonstrate a link between simple FA and MFA.

in a third time we will try to determinate whether a constitutive activation of PRLR leads to enhanced occurrence of benign / malign transitions.

10 < age < 50 for other diseases .no hormonal treatment for at least 3 months if patients took cyproterone acetate; 1 month for other ovaries-interfering hormonal treatment, and 1 week for ovaries-non-interfering hormonal treatments.

Signature of the informed consent form (icf) by patients or their legal representative (for patients under age of 18.)

breast cancer :

having a breast cancer with a planned surgery

age > 55 years

post menopausal with not menopause substitution treatment

signature of the icf

control group :

18 < age < 60

signature of the icf

Exclusion criteria :

no signature or no conformity of the icf

no social security

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Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00842465